For Release: June 1, 2026
Washington, DC, United States
The International Neuroethics Society (INS) is proud to announce the first-time appointments of Tamami Fukushi and Olivia Matshabane to its Board of Directors in 2026. These exceptional members of the international neuroethics research community will join their colleagues Adrian Carter, Winston Chiong and Nicole Martinez-Martin, who have been selected for re-appointed to the INS Board.
In addition, Marcello Ienca is now officially President of the INS as of June 1, 2026, taking over from Debra JH Mathews, who will remain on the INS Board for one more year in the role of Immediate Past President. Diego Borbón has also been appointed to a 2-year term as a Student Representative to the Board and will serve as co-chair of the Student/Postdoc Committee for the next year along with Nathan Higgins, who was re-appointed as a Student Representative for a 1-year term to begin a staggered appointment schedule.
Board appointees officially began their 3-year terms in April in conjunction with the Neuroethics 2026 conference that took place on April 15-17, 2026. Simultaneously ending their tenure on the INS Board this year after many years of service are Eric Racine and Arleen Salles. Their many contributions to the INS are greatly appreciated and they have made a lasting impact on the direction of the professional society and the neuroethics field.
Tamami Fukushi, PhD is a Professor at the Faculty of Human Welfare, Tokyo Online University. Her current interest in neuroethics is Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in addition to ethics education of advanced technology of neuroscience in the context of engineering ethics, science policy and regulatory science. She is a member of the Ethics Committee of the Japan Neuroscience Society, International Advisory Council at Centro Internacional de Neurociencia y Ética (CINET) and of the panel of Center for Neurotechnology and Law, by drawing on her research experience in cognitive neuroscience as well as in science policy and research on research.
Olivia Matshabane, PhD MA, is a Neuroethics Researcher and PI of the Africa Neuroethics Research Group, through which she leads a multi-country team focused on community-engaged cross-cultural neuroethics in Africa. Her research interests are in mental health, ethics of neuropsychiatric genomics, Indigenous methodologies and community-engaged cross-cultural neuroethics.
Adrian Carter is Professor of Neuroethics and Australian Research Council Future Fellow on the responsible innovation of neuroscience. He leads the Neuroscience and Society Group at the Monash Bioethics Centre and is an Adjunct Fellow of the School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University. Adrian has been an advisor to the WHO, OECD, EU, and UN, and is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuroethics.
Winston Chiong, MD PhD is the Mary Oakley Foundation Professor in Neuroethics in the University of California, San Francisco Department of Neurology, and is Director of UCSF Bioethics. His clinical practice focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders of aging. His research addresses the neural bases of decision-making in the aging brain, and the ethical and health equity implications of alterations to brain function.
Nicole Martinez-Martin is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Center of Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University. Her background is in law, social sciences, and comparative human development. Her research interests include the examination of the impact of new technologies on marginalized populations, with a focus on equity and privacy. Her recent work in bioethics and neuroethics has centered on the ethics of AI and digital health technology, with grant-funded projects on digital phenotyping, digital mental health tools, and ambient intelligence.
Diego Borbón was appointed as one of the youngest Professors at the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Externado de Colombia, where he teaches Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and Law at the Center for Studies on Genetics and Law, where he is also the PI and Director of the Research Group in Biological Sciences and Law. Affiliate and former Fellow at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, as winner of the Stehr-Boldt Award in Biomedical Ethics. He is a lawyer, criminal defense attorney, and consultant in public law. Holds a JD, MSc in Legal Psychology, MPhil in Philosophy and is a PhD candidate in Philosophy. Master’s student in Applied Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London. Founder of the Red Iberoamericana de Neuroderecho y Neuroética, a comprehensive network of Ibero-American scholars in neurolaw and neuroethics. Has served since 2022 in different roles and appointments for the International Neuroethics Society.
Nathan Higgins is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Monash Bioethics Centre. Nathan’s work explores the responsible research and innovation of neurotechnologies, primarily neurosurgical systems such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). His doctoral work examined the problem of post-trial responsibility in clinical trials of implantable brain-based devices. At Macquarie University, Nathan is working on a project investigating public attitudes towards voluntary-assisted dying legislation in Australia. He has served as the Chair of the International Neuroethics Society’s Student & Postdoc Committee since 2023, and is currently the Managing Editor of the journal Neuroethics.
Eric Racine, PhD, is research professor and director of the Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) with additional appointments at University of Montreal and McGill University. He is a leading international researcher in bioethics with recognized contributions to the development of neuroethics and pragmatic ethics. Inspired by philosophical pragmatism, his research aims to bring to the forefront the lived experience of ethically problematic situations by patients and stakeholders and then to resolve them collaboratively through deliberative and evidence-informed processes.
Arleen Salles, PhD, MA, is Chief Research Officer at the Institute of Neuroethics (IoNx) and director of Neuroética Buenos Aires (NEBA) in Argentina. Before IoNx, she was a senior researcher at Uppsala University and lead of the Neuroethics and Engagement Task in the European Human Brain Project. Her current research interests include the conceptual, ethical, and social issues raised by neuroscientific research and by the design, development, and deployment of neurotechnologies and other disruptive technologies, with a particular interest in culturally situated approaches to governance and innovation.
The International Neuroethics Society is a professional association of scientists, scholars, students, and practicing legal and health professionals leading discourse on the complex ethical issues arising from brain research and an expanding understanding of the mind. Experts in the ethical, legal, clinical and societal impacts of advances in neuroscience, INS members are uniquely equipped to communicate the value and implications that new knowledge, technologies, and potential applications bring to human health and wellbeing.
###
Contact:
Robert Beets
INS Executive Director
beets@neuroethicssociety.org
+1 301-307-6020